


Heroes

by o0aurora0o



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Identity Porn, Identity Reveal, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Meet-Cute, Peter Parker & Michelle Jones - Freeform, Peter Parker & Ned Leeds - Freeform, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Precious Peter Parker, Secret Identity, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-07 10:51:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16852666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/o0aurora0o/pseuds/o0aurora0o
Summary: Penny is a regular high-school student, but after a particularly rough night in her foster home, she climbs up on the roof of a building where Spider-Man happens to be resting. Finding unexpected comfort from the spandex-wearing hero, they make it a regular thing to meet up and talk. Meanwhile, Penny befriends Peter Parker at school, oblivious to the fact he shares the same identity as the person she has been sharing her thoughts and feelings within the night. Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming.





	Heroes

**_Penny_ **

Penny knew that it wasn't a good idea to climb on the roof of an apartment complex in the middle of the night, especially since she had school the next day, but she couldn't bring herself to be bothered about it.

At least she would get a few hours of peace. No foster kids bickering and fighting, trying to bring her into their childish scraps, but she will definitely get in trouble for it later if her foster parents gave enough of a crap to notice she was gone. They probably wouldn't. It wasn't her first time doing this, but she didn't know how this home worked. They might drag her by her hair back to her room, beat her, lock her inside and then throw away the key, or they might just leave the girl to her own devices. She hoped it would be the latter.

With her legs dangling over the edge of the rooftop, Penny watched the bustling streets below, spotting the difference between drunkards and pedestrians, utterly lost in her thoughts. So lost in her thoughts, apparently, that she didn't hear the sound of someone reluctantly walking up from behind her, before taking a step back, and then going back to stand a few meters behind her, hands wrung together.

Maybe she should have jumped, or at least startled slightly when a voice spoke closely from behind her, but she didn’t.

"Are you okay, miss?" It sounded like concern. Or pity. They both sounded the same in Penny's ears, and neither tone would surprise her since she  _was_ a sixteen-year-old orphan girl sat out alone on a cold Wednesday night. "What are you doing out here?"

The teen swung her legs out, hitting the back of her boot-clad foot against the crumbling bricks of the wall, giving a light shrug. "Could ask you the same thing."

"Well, I, uh, I... I-I," the stranger stammered, and Penny let a smile caress her lips.

"Do you want to sit down or anything?" she asked quietly. "Unless you really like standing."

She heard shuffling and then a presence was seated next to her. Blonde hair covered the side of her face, so she tucked it behind her ear and shyly glanced over. Her eyebrows furrowed together in recognition.

"You're that Spider-Dude, aren't you?" she asked. She heard a bit about him on the news, that he was a friend of the Avengers, which was freaking awesome. Penny loved Captain America, even though he was a war criminal now, but still, he was super hot. Everyone in the Avengers was hot. Maybe they were genetically bred?

"It's... Spider- _Man_ ," he corrected, slightly disheartened.

"Well, Spider- _Man_ ," she greeted with a quirked lip. "I'm Penny. No aliases, unfortunately. Just plain Penny."

"Penny's a nice name," Spider-Man mumbled. He sat in a similar position to the girl, costume-clad legs swinging over the rooftop's edge and back a bit hunched. He was sat about a foot away from her, his mask on, and Penny wondered what he looked like underneath. He sounded young, maybe around her age, so he could be cute? She hoped he was cute. "I've never met a Penny before."

"It's a pretty common name, Spider-Man," Penny stated. "Your identity is super-secret, right? I bet you have a weird name." She hummed under breath, thinking. "Pablo, Joaquin, Gilberto..."

"Are you just naming drug lords?" he asked.

"Are you a drug lord?" Penny countered.

"No, I-I  _stop_ the drug lords," he explained. "I don't  _do_ the drugs."

"Huh." She bit her lip, frowning. "So, do you ever go bigger than drug lords? Or is that for the Avengers?"

"Hm, well, usually," Spider-Man told her. "I get stuck with the smaller stuff, but I once took down a supervillain, though. Like, a real villain from the movies type thing. It was scary but pretty fun."

"How can fighting some dude bigger than you be fun? A 19-year-old in T.K. Maxx once punched me in the face and it was the opposite."

"Well, it's adrenaline and…" Spider-Man trailed off, catching up to her words. "A 19-year-old punched you?"

"I think he was high," Penny told him. "He kept talking about gazebos with his friends. It was in Nevada so I doubt I'll ever see him again, anyway."

"You moved here from Nevada?" Spider-Man asked. The white eyes of his mask widened slightly, and Penny didn't know what the expression meant. Did it work like normal eyes or spider eyes? How do spider eyes even work? Was he actually human? "That's like the other side of the country. When did you get here?"

"Yesterday," she said with a half-shrug. "I'm an orphan and my family basically rejected me, so I'm a fostered kid. Most foster homes kick me out to the next state, though. What about you? Are dead parents why you decided to dress up in spandex to stop bad guys?"

"I- uh- um—"

"I'm kidding, Spider-Man." Penny smiled. "You don't have to tell me anything. I know it might put your family in danger and stuff. I'll ask if you've caught any criminals tonight, though." Spider-Man stayed quiet. "That means have you caught any criminals tonight?"

"Oh, I—" Spider-Man stammered. It was pretty sweet to a see a superhero act so nervous. "Well, not really. Everything's been kinda quiet since this crime boss dude got put in prison by Daredevil." Wilson Fisk, she remembered hearing in the news. "I helped an old lady with her shopping and watched some guys dog when he went into a corner shop. And now I'm talking to a lady who's sat outside on her own. Can I ask why you're out here?"

"It's peaceful," she told him with a shrug. "Living in a house with a dozen kids is too loud for me. And I don't think my foster parents like me much. They always look at me like I have three arms or something."

"Why?" the superhero asked. "You're nice. A bit weird, but nice."

"Coming from the dude who dresses up in an arachnid spandex suit in his spare time," Penny retaliated lightly.

"What about the girl who's talking to the dude dressed in an arachnid spandex suit?" he threw back. Penny turned her head and saw a twitch of a smile underneath his mask, and she gave a small grin in response. "Do you go to school? Because it's pretty late and you should probably be sleeping."

"I start Midtown tomorrow," she said. “10th grade.”

"Midtown?" Spider-Man repeated, the whites of his eyes widening. "Oh- uh- I hear that's a, um, pretty good—"

"You know someone who goes there, don't you?"

"What?  _No_ , no, no." He chuckled nervously. “No… no…”

"You're a terrible liar," Penny said softly and moved her gaze to her lap. She began picking at the frayed rip in her jeans. "Even if I wanted to tell anyone, I wouldn't. It's not like anyone listens to me, anyway, and I'd probably be sent to an asylum if I told them I had a conversation with a superhero.” She glanced at him, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Your secret's safe with me, Spider-Man." It wasn't much of a secret but still, it made her feel special. "Are you gonna go do superhero stuff now?"

"I, uh, I don't mind keeping you company," he said, but it sounded more like a question. "Crime doesn't really happen on Wednesdays."

"Then you're not looking in the right places." Penny shrugged. "I'm sure there are a few drunk people trying to get up the subway steps. Go help those drunk people, Spider-Man."

"But- But I- I don't—" he stammered, waving his hands around. She noticed the detailed web design in the red and blue spandex. It was pretty neat. "I don't wanna leave you out here alone."

"I'm not gonna do a leap of faith," she assured him. The whites of his spider eyes narrowed. It looked like a frown. "I'll probably be up here every night so if you're worried about me... Nah, it doesn't matter, anyway. You've probably got more important superhero stuff to do."

"I can be a friendly neighbourhood spider," he stated, nearly exclaiming it. "Uh, Iron Man told me that. Helping one person can change the world."

"Change the world?" Penny echoed, laughing breathily. "I'm just some orphan kid, Spider-Man. I'm not gonna change anything."

"Anyone can change the world," Spider-Man said with a shrug, shifting to stand up. "I'll, um, swing by tomorrow. No pun intended- pun _in_ tended, I-I mean. I was totally meant to say that." Penny stared at him with a raised eyebrow. "See ya."

He made a motion with his hand as he kept his eyes on her, web flying out of the device strapped to his wrist, latching onto the building across the road.

And he was gone.

 _Huh_ , Penny thought to herself. _Spider-Man's pretty sweet._

* * *

**_Peter_ **

Peter spent the entire day searching for Penny.

In Math class, he kept glancing back at the door. In English, he was constantly looking over his shoulder to see who walked in. During Media Studies, he kept his eyes firmly glued to the door in case the girl from the night before walked in.

She didn’t.

Until Chemistry the next day, that is.

“Why do you keep looking at the door? Is there another villain? Is it Vulture?” Ned asked in a persistent whisper as Miss Warren talked about something to do with the Periodic Table. He wasn’t really listening. “Is Tony Stark about to walk in- no, wait… Is it Black Widow?”

“What?” Peter whispered, giving his friend a bewildered look. “Why would Mr Stark come into class?”

“Uh, because he’s your mentor,” Ned replied in a _duh_ tone. “Why do you keep looking at the door?”

Peter didn’t get the chance to respond when the door actually opened.

And in she walked.

Peter didn’t see much of her face last night because it was so dark, but from what he could see from the glow of the streetlights, she was pretty.

But seeing her in broad daylight…

She was super pretty. Like, really, _really_ pretty.

Her hair was cut into a straight but messy bob just above her shoulders, clearly dyed as her roots were dark and the rest of her hair was blonde, almost white. Her eyes were hazel, framed by eyebrows the colour of her roots, and she had a cute upturned nose.

“Penny Savvy,” Miss Warren greeted warmly, ceasing her writing on the board. “Why don’t you take a seat at the back and I’ll talk to you at the end.”

Penny nodded with a closed-lipped smile and took a seat on the back table, throwing her backpack on the empty stool next to her, right behind Flash.

Peter stared at her with wide eyes.

 _Wow_ …

“Is she new?” Ned asked, breaking Peter from his daydream. “She’s hot.”

“Wha--? _Ned_ ,” Peter hissed.

“What?” he asked defensively. “You were staring, too!”

“Do you know how creepy you both sound?” MJ murmured from Peter’s left, her eyes focused on the portrait she was sketching on the corner of her notebook. It was Miss Warren, but she had an exaggerated frown on her face. “I’m giving it another three seconds of you losers staring before she gets a restraining order.”

“We’re not staring--!”

“Anything you two want to share with the class?” Miss Warren interrupted, glancing expectantly between Ned and Peter. When they both shook their heads simultaneously, she nodded with a, “Good,” and turned back to the whiteboard.

Peter heard Flash’s unmistakable snicker towards himself and Ned, and he risked a glance towards Penny to see if she’d laugh at him, too.

She was already looking at him with a warm half-smile on her face, eyes soft as she ignored Flash’s following comments about Ned and Peter, and the obvious stare he was sending her way.

Peter flushed bright red and ducked his head away.

He spent the rest of Chemistry with his head bowed, staring at his notebook without actually writing anything down.

* * *

**_Penny_ **

“Everyone here sucks,” MJ told her, holding Penny’s feet down on the mat as she did sit-ups. “Flash and his crew are dicks.” Flash was the one that kept talking to her during Chem, she found out. He kept turning around to talk to her, making weird jokes that didn’t really land well. She swore he was secretly a middle-schooler. “Liz is pretty cool but her friends are all assholes. Some of the teachers are alright, but yeah. It’s best not to be friends with anyone here. It’s how I survived.”

As Penny finished her 20th sit-up as Coach ordered, she and MJ swapped places. MJ didn’t even bother trying a sit-up but sat on the mat, leaning back against her hands as she faced the other girl.

Penny glanced over MJ’s shoulder and saw Ned and Peter doing the same thing, with Ned’s knees on Peter’s feet as he did sit-ups. A lot of sit-ups, and pretty quickly, too. Wow.

“What about Peter and Ned?” Penny asked MJ, turning her eyes back to the curly-haired girl. MJ’s first words to her were ‘ _I only trust people who don’t talk. Let’s partner up’_. And they got along pretty fast. “You’re friends with them, right?”

“Yeah,” MJ agreed with a head nod, “but they’re still weird.”

Penny hummed and looked back at Peter, who laughed brightly at something Ned said. It was a nice smile.

MJ’s eyes narrowed when she followed her line of sight. “You’re into Peter,” she stated. It should have been phrased like a question, but she said as though it was fact.

Penny shrugged, not bothering with denying it. “He’s cute.”

“And weird,” MJ added. “He literally wouldn’t stop staring at you in Chem. And when you were doing sit-ups, like, 5 minutes ago. It’s creepy.”

“I know,” Penny agreed. “I’m not blind. I think it’s kinda sweet, though.”

“Mostly creepy,” MJ scoffed, just as Coach blew his whistle.

“Teams of 4,” he ordered. “Just… do whatever you want. Sit-ups, push-ups, lacrosse, jump rope, fencing, badminton, fights to the death. I just wanna get paid.”

MJ and Penny stood, silently agreeing to partner up with Peter and Ned since there was no one else they really got along with, but the duo had already appeared at their side. Peter was blushing bright red and looked like he would rather be anywhere else, while Ned had a self-satisfied smile on his face.

“Hi,” Ned greeted Penny, holding his hand out for her to shake. “I’m Ned.”

“Um…” Penny reluctantly took his hand. Strangely formal. “I’m Penny. Nice to meet you, Ned.”

She turned her eyes to Peter, expectantly waiting for him to do the same as Ned, hopefully without the handshake, though.

Peter’s eyes were wide and his mouth agape as he stared at Penny, hands frozen by his sides.

She felt sort of bad for him.

“It’s Peter, right?” she asked, teeth biting into the corner of her lip to mask her smile.

“Uh, yeah,” he forced out. “H-H-Hi, I, uh, I’m Peter. You’re Penny. I… I’m Peter.”

“Good lord,” MJ muttered.

Penny pulled her lips between her teeth to stop herself from laughing right out at the guy. He was sweet.

“Hey, Penis Parker!”

Moment ruined.

“What do you want, Flash?” MJ bit out, turning to the sweaty teen and his little squad.

“Well, Michelle, I was gonna ask fresh meat if she wanted to group with us.” He smirked, glancing back at his friends.

“You’re already in a group of four,” Penny said like she was talking to a child. “I’m already in a group of four. So, no, thank you.” She tapped her fingers against her arm. “And he’s better at making jokes than you. Penis Parker isn’t very innovative.”

Hurt rushed over Flash’s face for a brief second before it was replaced by the usual snide smugness. “I—” he started.

“See you in Chem, Flash.” Penny gave a small smile, as kind as she could make it without looking fake and turned her back to him.

Flash grumbled something under his breath aimed at Peter, and then she heard him walk away with his posse.

“I think Flash has a crush on you, P,” MJ said with a half-smirk. Peter’s eyebrows lowered, and his lower lip stuck out in a pout. “Don’t worry, Pete.” She patted him on the shoulder. “I think she’s more into you.” It was said in a whisper, but Penny still heard it.

If she didn’t think that Peter could turn any redder, she was hugely mistaken.

* * *

Penny spent lunch with the trio, sat opposite Peter and next to MJ. Peter was doing almost everything to avoid her gaze, and Penny couldn’t tell if it was a good sign or a bad one. He was really cute, the way he’d smile when Ned made a lame joke, or how his eyebrow’s furrowed when he listened intently to what MJ was saying, or how his lip quirked when Penny made a remark like he didn’t want to outright laugh.

Maybe she was into him, just a little bit.

“What about your parents?” MJ asked. She swore she saw Peter freeze at the question.

“Both dead,” Penny answered. She never met her dad and she only knew her mom for 6 years, so it didn’t really bother her anymore. “My mom was Anita Savvy, though. The famous doctor lady.”

“Your mom worked for Oracle Inc.?” Peter asked, seemingly in shock since he hasn’t addressed her whatsoever since the gym.

“Yeah,” Penny answered with a nod, “she was the top scientist there. Apparently, she was the leader dude’s favourite.”

“Is that what you wanna be when you graduate?” Peter asked. “A doctor or scientist or something?”

“Or something.” Penny shrugged. “Apparently Tony Stark has an internship thing going on. It means an automatic place in any chosen college, so that’d be pretty cool. I sent an application last week but my grades suck, so I doubt I’ll ever get a change of getting in.”

“Peter has that internship!” Ned blurted, earning a hard elbow in the ribs by Peter. “ _What?!_ ”

“You’ve met Tony Stark?” Penny asked, genuinely fascinated. “You’re, like, buddies with Iron Man?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say buddies…”

“More like a mentor,” Ned cut in, leaning in slightly to acknowledge Penny. “Peter once called him ‘ _dad’_ on accident.”

Penny grinned as Peter protested against that accusation, and Penny and MJ went back to their lunches as the two argued.

Maybe this school would be better than the others.

* * *

**_Peter_ **

Later on, after telling Mr Stark that he needed to go out and leaving him bewildered in his lab, Peter swung onto the same rooftop he first saw Penny on, decked out in his Spidey gear. Penny wasn’t there, though, but Peter was willing to wait, and sat down on the edge of the roof with his feet hanging over the edge, watching passer-byers move obliviously below him.

Thirty minutes later when it was almost pitch-black outside, Peter heard quiet steps climbing up the fire escape.

He moved to adjust his hair but remembered that he was in his suit, so he let his arms rest awkwardly by his sides for a moment before deciding to simply let his hands grasp around the edge of the building.

“Hey there, Spider-Man,” Penny greeted softly.

Peter pretended that he didn’t know she was there and turned his head to acknowledge her, but his words got caught in his throat.

She was wearing a leather jacket with a black scarf wrapped around her neck, as well as a beanie that was suitable for the weather and a pair of gloves, vastly more prepared for the cold weather than she was the night before.

But that wasn’t it, her hair- it was no longer straight, but a curly disaster that she managed to make work. The way stray wisps wrapped around her beanie and face, it made her look really pretty. Her hair looked so much prettier curly. She was just really pretty.

“Uh- um- I- how- hi,” Peter stammered, mentally conjure ways to kill himself without dying. _Uh- um- I- how- hi?_ Really, Parker?

Penny’s eyebrows furrowed as she sat down next to Peter, just under a foot away to his left. “Why do you look nervous?” she asked, glancing over at him. “I know I can’t see your face, but you look weird.”

“It’s, uh, nothing,” Peter answered smoothly. “You, just, um, look really nice. I like your hat.”

_I like your hat?_

“Thanks.” Penny chuckled and ran a gloved hand over the beanie. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re nervous because of me. Do you have a little crush, Spider-Man?” She was teasing, he knew, but he still felt his heart try to jump out of his chest.

“No, of course not,” Peter stated, almost exclaimed it, thankfully without stuttering like a bumbling idiot. “You… You had your first day at Midtown today, right?”

“Yeah, I did.” Penny smiled, a genuine smile, thankfully deciding to drop the previous subject. “It was better than I expected. Some of the students are weirdos but I made some friends. Well, I think I made some friends, anyway. I don’t know.”

 “Oh, are they nice?” he asked, curiosity piquing. Was she talking about MJ and Ned? Even Peter?

“Very,” Penny answered with a nod, turning her eyes in front of her, to the streets below. “MJ’s cool. She reminds me of me, I guess, which is probably why I like her. There was a dude called Ned who’s funny. Really funny.” _Don’t mention Peter, don’t mention Peter, don’t mention Peter…_ “And Peter, too.” Oh, no _._ “He’s pretty quiet but I think he was just nervous. He kept looking at me in Chemistry and PE.” _Oh, no._ “I asked MJ and she said that he’s probably into me.” Peter wanted to scream. _What the hell, MJ?_ “She might be right, but I doubt it.”

“Are you… into him?” Peter asked. He was going to literal hell for this.

“Maybe,” Penny hummed. Maybe? _Maybe?_ What did maybe mean? “He’s cute and everything, but I don’t really know him.”

“Why not try to?” Peter suggested, maybe a bit too quickly. “If you think he’s, uh, cute, why not…” He made a sliding motion with his hands, “go for it?”

“Because I’m a foster kid, Spider-Man,” Penny replied with a sad smile and shrug. “The longest I’ve ever stayed in a home was for a year, and that was because they were trying to find my biological parents and didn’t know where to put me.” She turned to Peter and tucked her curly hair behind her ear, underneath her hat. “I might be here for a few months, but after that, I’ll be gone. Until I turn 18 and can move out, I’ll be moving from state to state. Nothing I can do to change that.”

Peter slumped, his eyebrows pulling together under his mask. “Why can’t you just stay in this one?” he asked.

“Because I’m a destructive human being,” Penny told him, tapping her fingers against her knee. “That’s what my therapist told me, anyway. I get in a lot of fights with the other kids.”

Peter frowned. She didn’t seem like the violent type.

“The other kids like giving me crap,” she continued like she heard his comment. “I’m not good with comebacks. Hitting them is my forte.”

“What about Flash in Gym?” he asked. “It wasn’t really a comeback, but y-you shut him down!”

Penny turned to him slowly, lips parted with a frown on her face. “How do you know about that?”

Oh, crap.

_Oh, crap._

_Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap._

“Did your mysterious friend tell you about it?” she asked before he could come up with a reply, and good lord, was he glad that she came up with an excuse on his behalf without realising it. “Doesn’t matter, anyway. I’ll be gone soon.”

“You don’t know that.” Peter’s panic was replaced with sadness, or a certain type of sadness that tugged at his chest unpleasantly. It was akin to disappointment, but it felt like something… more. “You have friends, right? Why not… I don’t know, try to fight for your keep?”

“I’ve known them for a day, Spider-Man,” Penny pointed out. Peter had to remind himself that he was Spider-Man right now, not Peter Parker. The only time he’s spoken to her was last night, and only last night. “Is it part of the superhero shtick to care this much about one person?”

“I’m just a friendly neighbourhood spider,” Peter said, inadvertently quoting himself from last night. Tony told him that a while ago, and although Peter didn’t really take it to heart when he first heard it, he certainly did after Vulture. He could admit he was in over his head back then. “You’re nice. And I like helping people.”

Penny looked down and smiled, sinking her teeth into her bottom lip like she wanted to hide it, but released it when she turned her head to face Peter. “You’re pretty nice, too,” she said, leaning her body over to nudge her shoulder against his. He had to stop a grin from spreading on his face even if Penny couldn’t see it, and nudged her back. “Out of curiosity, how old are you? Seems like you know a lot more about me than I do you.” She paused. “Well, I know you’ve got the whole superhero-thing going on, but an age would be nice.”

Wait…

Was she into older guys? A lot of girls in his grade were into older guys, even Liz was dating a senior. What if Penny was already dating someone? Did she have a boyfriend? Or even a girlfriend? Maybe she was into Ned? Or MJ?

God, what if she was actually into Flash?

“Your eyes are really wide right now,” Penny commented. “Was it the age question? Because if you’re actually some kind of human-spider hybrid and, like, 3 months old, I won’t judge you. It’d explain the costume.”

“What?” Peter’s spider eyes narrowed. “No, I-I’m Spider-Man because I shoot webs.” Penny’s eyebrow twitched upwards. “Seriously, I’m human! Fully human, no spider genetics.” What if the radioactive spider put its genetics into Peter?

What if he was actually part spider?

Apparently it showed on his face through the mask, when Penny asked, “Made you question everything, didn’t I?”

Well, at least he avoided the age question.

“So, how old are you?”

Never mind.

“I’m 16,” Penny answered her own question, sensing Peter’s reluctance. “It’s my birthday in two months, give or take. August.”

August?

“August?” Peter repeated with a frown. “What date?”

“The 27th,” Penny said.

No way.

“No way,” Peter breathed. Was this even real? “That’s mine, too.”

Penny’s eyebrows raised dramatically and her lips parted. “August 27th is your birthday?” she asked, but it didn’t sound like a question. She chuckled breathily and shook her head. “That’s awesome. I have the same birthday as Spider-Man.”

They spent an hour – a full _hour_ – talking about nothing in particular, just simply enjoying each other’s company. Penny slid closer to Peter at one point to show her a picture of her dog from the foster home when she lived in Maryland – a really fat Corgi she named Stuart – and she didn’t move back when she shoved her phone back in her pocket. Not even an inch separated them and somehow the warmth she provided was a hundred times better than the heater Tony installed in his suit, even though the heater was pretty sweet.

It was 9:30 p.m. by the time Peter got back to his apartment, 30 minutes past his curfew since walking home when it’s pitch black in Queens wasn’t the safest idea. He changed out of his suit in the alleyway he stuck his backpack and put in his earphones, thankful that his spidey-sense would detect any danger before it could reach him.

He entered the apartment and was greeted by May leaning against the back of the couch, eyebrow cocked as she stared at her nephew expectantly.

Peter sheepishly removed the buds from his ears and began to stammer out an apology, but May’s hand rising sharply cut him off.

“Did you have fun at Ned’s?” she asked him, but it didn’t feel like a genuine question.

“Uhh…” Peter stared. “Yes?”

“That’s funny,” May began. Oh, no, “because I just called Ned’s mom and apparently you weren’t there, at all.” Double oh, no. “And I called Ned who told me that you’re seeing a girl.” Triple oh, _no, what the hell, Ned?!_

“Uhhhhhh…”

“So, tell me about this Penny.”

Really? Ned told May her name? _Seriously, Ned?_

“Well, she’s, uh, new,” Peter explained, shifting awkwardly on his feet. “I met her as Spider-Man and she’s in my Chemistry class. She’s nice and pretty, blonde hair, and- can I go now?”

“Hm.” May narrowed her eyes and didn’t look like she was going to, but she stepped aside after a moment, a knowing smile on her face. “Sure. But don’t think I’m letting this go, Peter. I’ll berate you tomorrow.”

Peter flushed bright red and practically ran past May to his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

How the hell did he get himself in this situation?

* * *

**_Penny_ **

Penny was sat in the bottom bunk of her bed, headphones placed over her ears to block out the other kids screaming downstairs and the carers trying to calm everything down. It was one of the better homes she’s been to, but that didn’t mean it was particularly great. She was the oldest kid there, so the building was almost filled to the brim with ten-year-olds, which meant a lot of shouting and energetic schoolkids. Well, she was a schoolkid, too, but at least she was a quiet one.

Her conversation with Spider-Man was… it was nice. She didn’t actually expect him to be waiting on the rooftop that night, but he did, and she hated to admit that it meant a lot. He should definitely have more important things to do than talk to some teenage girl who’s sat outside alone, but he decided to leave all that for her. It was a good feeling, to feel wanted.

Penny was on the tail-end of watching a YouTube documentary about some guy who murdered his family and tried to cover it up when one of the carers – Joanna – walked in with an envelope in hand.

“Hi, Penny,” she greeted as the younger girl paused the video, mostly out of politeness. Joanna was one of the nicer carers, and if it was anyone else, she probably would have kicked them out. “This just came in the mail.” She leaned down and handed the letter to Penny. “It’s about that Stark Internship, I think.” And then she walked out, pressing the door closed behind her.

Penny shrugged to herself and grabbed a pen from her nightstand, stabbing it into the corner of the envelope so she could tear it from there. No nails meant that opening things was 10x harder.

Taking a moment to brace herself for the inevitable disappointment she was about to feel, Penny opened the letter and read:

_Miss Penny Savvy,_

_We are happy to inform you that we have accepted your application for the Stark Internship Program!_

_No prior interviews are needed for this position, and we will send a follow-up letter shortly with the time and dates that Mr Stark would like to meet you with you. You will be partnered with one other applicant as it is vital for the course._

_Thank you for your application._

_Sincerely,_

_Miss Virginia Potts, CEO of Stark Industries._

Penny had to reread the letter four times before it hit her.

She just got accepted for the Stark Apprenticeship?

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first part of a two-part one shot (or should I call it two-shot), but don't expect this to be updated right away. In the meantime, why not tell me what you'd like to see in the next part?
> 
> Thanks for reading:)


End file.
